Dry shaver cutter heads



y 23, 1957 I L. c. CARISSIMI 2,793,430

DRY SHAVER CUTTER HEADS Filed Jan. 26, 1955 F|G.| FIG. 2

W I A D F INVENTOR LOUIS C.CARISSIM\ lmM ATTO R N EY United States Patent DRY SHAVER CUTTER HEADS Louis C. Carissimi, Fairfield, Conn, assignor to Sperry Rand Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application January 26, 1955, Serial No. 484,097

' 4 Claims. ((11.30- 43) This invention relates generally to improvements in dry shaver cutter heads and more particularly to a positive and silent means for driving the inner reciprocating cutter within the outer fixed cutter.

An object of the present invention is to provide a positive and silent means for driving the inner reciprocating cutter of a dry shaver cutter head in a manner which insures continuous contact and equal pressure of both ends of the inner reciprocating cutter against the outer fixed cutter when the inner cutter is driven through a pivoted oscillator arm and spring.

Another object of the invention is to provide positive and silent means for driving the reciprocating inner cutter of a dry shaver cutter head which includes a pressure spring having one end rigidly anchored and its other end slidably connected to the inner reciprocating cutter. This method of attaching the pressure driving spring to the reciprocating inner cutter allows a reasonable amount of variation in spring deflection without greatly increasing the pressure of the inner reciprocating cutter. against the outer fixed cutter as would be the case if bothends of the spring were rigidly anchored to the reciprocating cutter. v

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a silent spring driving means for the inner reciprocating cutter 'of a dry shaver cutter head in which the construction of the spring and its cooperation with the fixed cutter ba'se spacer provides for automatically centering the inner reciprocating cutter within the outer fixed cutter and prevents accidental disengagement of the inner reciprocating cutter from the outer fixed cutter,

Various other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description relating to the accompanying drawing, wherein one form of the invent-ion is illustrated.

The essential characteristics of the invention are summarized in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of a dry shaver cutter head embodying the invention and 4 showing the cutter head assembly attached to the shaver case and handle.

Fig. 2 is a transverse cross section taken on a plane corresponding to the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 illustrating two cutter head assemblies mounted on a common head plate.

'Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of one of the dry shaver cutter heads shown in Fig. 2 but removed from the shaver handle to illustrate the manner in which the spring automatically centers the inner cutter relative to the outer cutter and prevents their accidental separa tion.

Fig. 4 is an exploded isometric detail of the inner reciprocating cutter and its silent driving spring, and,

Figs. 5 and 6 are still further enlarged fragmentary isometric details illustrating the manner in which opposite ends of the silent driving spring are connected to opposite ends of the inner reciprocating cutter.

purpose presently made clear.

P 2,793,430 Patented May 28, 1957 In the accompanying drawing one application of the invention is shown embodied in a Remington dry shaver but it will be understood that the invention may be applied equally well to other known dry shavers.

The drawing has been simplified to illustrate only those parts of a dry shaver as is necessary to a complete understanding of the invention.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, reference numeral 10 indicates a fragmentary portion of the usual shaver case and handle upon which the cutter head assembly 9 of the shaver may be detachably secured by a pair of spring clips 11 and 12. According to the present invention each cutter head comprises a U-shaped base spacer 13 to which is welded a head shell or fixed outer cutter 14 and within which there is disposed a pressure leafspring 15 carrying a movable cutter 16 for cooperative cutting relation with the outer fixed cutter 14 in a manner presently described.

When operatively assembled, the inner cutter 16 is reciprocated with respect to the outer fixed cutter 14 through the spring 15 and a power driven oscillator arm 17 the latter being well known in the shaver art. The arm 17 extends upwardly through aligned openings 18 and 19 formed in the head plate 20 and base spacer 13 respectively.

As mentioned above, the outer fixed cutter or head shell 14, of each cutter head, is rigidly connected to its base spacer 13 and each base spacer 13 is rigidly connected to a common head plate 20 by lugs 21 which are formed on each spacer to pass through corresponding slots or openings in the head plate, and then angularly bent to engage the underside of said plate as best shown in Fig. 2.

The leaf spring 15 is shaped to provide a partial loop 22 and angular portions 23 intermediate its ends for a One end of leaf spring 15 is reduced in width to form shoulders 28, the reduced end then being bent to form a hook 24. The opposite end of spring 15 is provided with a pair of opposed notches 25 to form a T-head or end as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The manner of assembling spring 15 to the inner cutter 16 is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. As shown in this figure, hook 24 of spring 15 is first inserted into a slot 26 punched in the inner cutter 16 until the shoulders 23 cont-act the underside of said inner cutter 16. The spring is then bowed to permit the T-head end thereof to enter the enlarged end of a key hole-slot 27 formed in the inner cutter 16. When the spring is released, notches 25 of the T-head end of the spring will then engage the walls of. the narrow part of the key-hole slot thus interlocking the spring and inner reciprocating cutter so as to have the hooked end of the spring rigidly connected to the cutter and the T-head end of the spring slidably connected to the cutter. The spring 15 may be removed from the inner reciprocating cutter 16 by merely reversing the assembly procedure just described.

From the description thus far given it will be observed that the manner of connecting spring 15 to the inner reciprocating cutter 16 not only prevents accidental separation of the spring from the cutter during cleaning or servicing operation but also provides an integral assembly which is easily handled for insertion into or removal from the outer fixed cutter.

It will be further observed from Fig. 3 that when the inner cutter 16 and its attached spring 15 are pushed or slid into the outer fixed cutter 14, angular portions 23 of the spring will be caused to snap into engagement during the mounting of the cutter head assembly upon the shaver handle and case 10. This is especially true when more than one cutter head is mounted upon the head plate 20.

When the cutter head assembly 9 is removed from the shaver handle 10 (which is accomplished by releasing clips 11 and 12 from holding engagement with the head plate 20), oscillator arm 1 will also be disconnected from engagement with its spring 15. This creates a clearance, indicated at 30 in Fig. 3, between the cutting surfaces of the inner and outer cutters as the inner cutter and its spring drop. The angular portions 23 of the spring then engage with the edges of opening 19 in base spacer 13 (Fig. 3) for reasons previously mentioned. However, when the cutter head assembly 9 is remounted upon the shaver handle 10 to reengage the driving end of oscillator arm 17 with the partial loop 22 of spring 15 (Fig. 1), the cutting surface of inner reciprocating cutter 16 is again firmly pressed into contact with the outer cutting surface of fixed cutter 14 through compression of spring 15, and when in this operative position, the clearance 30 shown in Fig. 3 is eliminated and operative cutting action between the inner and outer cutters is restored. Furthermore, when spring 15 and oscillator arm 17 are in operative engagement with one another, as above described, the T-head end of the spring is permitted to slide relative to the inner cutter 16. This eliminates noisy operation of the parts through repetitive metallic contact.

It will be evident from the above description that the invention provides a new and improved means for positively and silently driving the inner reciprocating cutter of a dry shaver head within the outer fixed cutter so that pressure of the inner cutter against the outer fixed cutter is the same at both ends of the inner cutter throng out its entire movement; a means for self-centering the inner cutter when it is slid endwise into the outer fixed cutter so as to guard against accidental disengagement of the cutters relative to one another during cleaning or handling; and to automatically align the partial loop of the spring with the oscillator arm when mounting the head assembly upon the shaver handle; and a cutter head construction having a minimum number of parts, which is simple and economical to manufacture, quickly and easily assembled, and one which requires a minimum of care and attention.

While only one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art of dry shavers that numerous variations and modifications may be made in the particular construction without departing from the underlying principles of the invention. It is therefore desired, by the following claims, to include within the scope of the invention, all such. variations and modifications whereby substantially the results of the invention may be obtained by the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a dry shaver, the combination of a cutter head assembly comprising a fixed outer cutter composed of a substantially U-shaped shell and a U-shaped base spacer rigidly connected to one another; a substantially U-shaped reciprocating inner cutter having a narrow transverse slot formed near one end and a longitudinally extending key-hole slot formed near its other end; a leaf spring having one end terminating in a hook and its other end terminating in a T-head, the hook being rigidly engaged within said first named slot and the T-head being slidably engaged Within said key-hole slot; a partial loop formed in said spring intermediate its ends; an oscillator arm having its free end adapted to dn'v-ingly engage said; loop, and means for automatically centering said inner cutter within said outer cutter including angular portions formed on said spring to engage the end walls of a central opening formed in said base spacer.

2. In a dry shaver, the combination of a cutter head comprising a fixed outer cutter and a reciprocating inner cutter, means for positively and silently driving the inner reciprocating cutter within the outer fixed cutter comprising: a spring provided with a partial loop intermediate its ends; means rigidly connecting one end of said spring to one end of said inner reciprocating cutter; means slidably connecting the other end of said spring to the other end of said inner cutter; means for automatically centering the inner cutter relative to the outer cutter when the former is slid endwise into the latter; and an oscillator arm having its free end operatively engaged within the partial loop of said spring to impart reciprocatory motion to said spring and inner cutter and provide a predetermined yielding pressure of the inner cutter against the outer cutter so that both ends of said inner cutter are held against said outer cutter under equal pressure during the entire movement of said oscillator arm.

3. In a dry shaver cutter head construction as claimed in claim 2 wherein the means for rigidly connecting opposite ends of the spring to opposite ends of the reciprocating cutter includes a hook formed on one end of said spring for rigid connection with one end of said inner cutter and a T-head formed on the other end of said spring for sliding connection with a key-slot in the other end of said inner cutter.

4. In a dry shaver cutter head construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein the means for automatically centering the inner cutter Within the outer cutter comprises: a substantially 'U-shaped base spacer rigidly connected to said outer fixed cutter and having a central opening therein; and angular portions formed on the spring to frictionally engage opposite edges of said opening when said oscillator arm is disconnected from said spring.

References titted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,314,068 Benner Mar. 16, 1943 2,445,790 Lonne July 27, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 628,599 Great Britain Sept. 1, 1949 

